A disabled person has the right to use public toilets like everyone else, but for someone with a disability toilets are often needed fast and in many places they are shared with the baby changing units, meaning long waits and as they tend to be on the ground floor in public buildings, they are often locked requiring the user to go and fetch the key before they can gain entry.
Our 29 year old daughter is profoundly disabled, she can walk short distances, but wears nappies and requires changing in the upright position fortunately, I have no idea how people manage when they are out if their family member needs changing in their chair as the baby changing units won't support heavier weights.
If I'm out with our daughter on my own, I too need to use the disabled toilet as I cannot leave her outside a public cubicle or even ask a member of the public to keep an eye on her, as she can lash out without warning and left unattended will wander off and is a danger to herself.
When our daughter needs to be changed, I need a clean toilet with running water, soap, toilet paper, a sink big enough to wash my hands in, something to dry my hands on, a shelf to put her bag on and more importantly a clean floor that I often have to kneel on whilst changing her.
Disposable gloves would be too much to ask for.
What I found on my last visit to the UK was over flowing nappy and sanitary bins, that were dirty, where foot pedals didn't work, broken changing tables, emergency pull cords that were hanging over the sink, lack of rails for our daughter to support herself with when standing, no soap, broken hand dryers and taps that didn't work. I opted not to take photo's of over flowing bins.
This tap didn't work and there was no soap, I was unable to take my daughter to the upstairs toilets so I could wash my hands after changing a full nappy full of faeces and I had to use baby wipes only before eating my meal and feeding her.
I complained in every place I visited where the toilets were as above, but the staff weren't interested and I didn't have time to wait for the toilet to be cleaned, which obviously wasn't an option anyway. I congratulated the staff at the Cafe Nero in Monmouth for keeping their toilets spotless. Sadly this was not a toilet I visited with my daughter, I just popped my head in to see how toilets varied from place to place.
The toilet in Costa Coffee in Monmouth.
It's not difficult to keep a toilet cleaned and well stocked, life is hard enough with a disabled adult child as it is, without all this.
JD Wetherspoon in Gloucester, you really need to up your game, we won't be visiting there again and I doubt the staff passed on my complaint to anyone either. Sadly it wasn't just the Gloucester branch. We tend to take our daughter to your establishments as the food is prepared quickly and brought to the table, but the lack of empathy from the staff leaves a lot to be desired when I ask for table service as I can't take my daughter to stand at the bar and manage her and drinks back to the table.
The supermarkets don't fare much better in Gloucester in regards to cleanliness but staff are far more helpful and will help when asked.
